The threat of US sanctions has prompted a Turkish terminal to halt imports of Russian oil on tankers.
The mid-sized Mediterranean facility at Dortyol received record Russian volumes in 2023 but has told clients it will not accept any more cargoes.
Turkey has been one of the biggest importers of crude and fuel from Russia after Western sanctions were imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Global Terminal Services, the terminal operator, said the ban applies even to cargoes not breaching any sanctions or regulations.
All previous imports had complied with the G7 price cap, the company told Reuters.
“GTS’ new approach is an additional measure to eliminate the effects of activities that are beyond its reach and control despite the efforts to comply with all applicable sanctions,” GTS explained.
Kpler data shows that Dortyol received 11.74m barrels from Russia last year.
Exports also increased to 24.7m barrels.
The last ship to discharge at Dortyol with a Russian cargo arrived on 19 February, carrying 511,000 barrels of diesel from Primorsk. The terminal will not turn away shipments nominated before its ban in late February.
Exports head to Greece and northern Europe
Dortyol exports oil to Corinth, Elefsis and Thessaloniki in Greece, and to Rotterdam and Antwerp.
This week, Russia unveiled new crude production and export cuts in a potential sign of growing sanctions pressure, analysts said.
Opec+ countries announced the continuation of a 2.2m barrels per day decrease into the second quarter of the year, as it seeks to bolster crude prices above $80 a barrel.
But Russia’s additional combined cut of 471,000 bpd of production and export barrels was seen as a surprise.
The cuts were in addition to those of 500,000 bpd announced in April, which are due to continue until the end of this year.
The Turkish government has opposed Western sanctions on Russia.
